Join the NewYorkCity Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Sanitation and GreeNYC to recycle your Christmas trees into wood chips. These wood chips are used to nourish trees and plants on streets and gardens citywide. More than 26,000 trees were recycled last year. You can bring your tree to a chipping location on January 11 and 12, or a drop-off location and the city will recycle it for you later. The Sanitation Department also conducts curbside collections.

Please remember to remove all lights and ornaments before bringing the tree to a MulchFest site. If you'd like to volunteer at MulchFest, you may register to join the Green Team and MillionTreesNYC volunteer group. See website for details.

Date/Time: Saturday, January 11. Buses will depart from PFTH offices at 9:30am

Location: Bus transportation will be provided to the party from the PFTH offices located at 305 Seventh Avenue

The Partnership for the Homeless holiday party for homeless and at-risk children from December has been rescheduled for January 11. Volunteers will be needed to make it a cheerful and fun event, especially since the holidays have passed. Volunteers will help sort and wrap toys for 450 children, serve food, help Santa, assist kids with arts and crafts projects and monitor traffic flow from activity to activity. Santa hats will be provided for volunteers. Please wear red shirts to add to the festive atmosphere.

Dorot's greeting card project helps bring joy and celebration to some of our frailest and most isolated seniors. Each month, DOROT mails over 200 birthday cards to seniors. Every card is designed and created by volunteers. Often, this card is the only recognition a senior receives on his or her birthday.Directions:Use a 9" X 12" piece of construction paper or card stock folded in half. Cards can be folded horizontally or vertically. Write in large block (print) letters. As people get older, many have a hard time reading small print. See website for more card creation tips. After you finish your cards, mail them to Dorot and our office volunteers will address and mail them to seniors.

Families help mark an elder's birthday by volunteering to deliver a birthday cake and share the joy of the occasion with a DOROT senior. DOROT staff will arrange with you the most convenient time for your birthday visit. On the day of the visit, arrive at DOROT to pick up a special birthday package to bring to the senior and receive a brief orientation to prepare you and your child for the birthday visit.

Location: Donation sites are located across the city, in police stations, at major transportation terminals, and at participating merchants. Check website for details on drop-off locations. This winter, we have received more than 100,000 requests for coats. Tens of thousands of people are freezing right now because we do not have enough coats to deliver to them. There are more than 280 drop-off locations throughout all five boroughs, making it easy to donate a coat anywhere in NewYorkCity. You may donate gently used coats at any one of the public donation sites, the NewYork Cares warehouse located in midtown, or you may start your own family coat drive. You can set up your personal collection site/coat drive in your apartment building, church/temple, school or office. Recipients of the coats include churches, schools and shelters, all of which serve NewYork's most in-need populations. Adult and child-sized coats are welcomed.

The Pajama Program is a non-profit organization that provides new pajamas and new books to children in need through a nationwide network of service agencies. The One Million Good Nights campaign has begun, with the goal of providing 1 million new pairs of pajamas, and one million new books, to children in need by Dec. 31, 2015.

Consider hosting a Pajama Party or Book Drive for your child's next Birthday!

In lieu of gifts, ask guests to bring a new pair of pajamas or a new book to donate to the Pajama Program

Pajamas should be new/unused, and should be a complete set or nightgown

Decide on an age range to collect for (all ages, infant, children to age 5, children 6 - 12, teens, etc.)

Posters, signs and brochures can be used for invitations or to decorate the party space, and may be downloaded from the Pajama Program website, www.pajamaprogram.org

Once your drive is complete, report the donation to the Pajama Program through a link on the website under Help Us! - Contact Us

Within 7 days, the Pajama Program will contact you with the name of an organization in your area that will accept the donations, and will help you get your donations into the hands of the children they serve

Location: Letters and artwork can be mailed to Operation Gratitude, 17330 Victory Boulevard, Van Nuys, CA 91406Operation Gratitude sends 100,000+ Care Packages each year to deployed Troops and Wounded Warriors. Of all the items included in these packages, the most cherished are the personal letters of appreciation! Our goal is to include several letters and colorful drawings in every Care Package and tell our troops "WE CARE!" Writing a letter is a meaningful way for Americans to show support for our Military. It only takes five minutes of your day, but will bring lasting joy to our troops.Don't know where to start?

Start with a salutation, such as "Dear Service Member" or "Dear Hero"

You can write to a Deployed Troop, a Veteran and/or a Wounded Warrior

Express your thanks for their selfless service

Avoid politics completely and religion in excess; however, saying you pray for them is wonderful

Share a little about yourself: Family, Hobbies, Work, Pets

Talk about life back home: Sports, Weather, Music, and Movies

Adults: Include your contact information (mail or email) so the letter/package recipient can reply.

Location: Drop-off location, 306 West 37th Street, 8th FloorAll over the city, New Yorkers help families in need by organizing their own coat drives in schools, apartment buildings, businesses, and places of worship. Help a family in need provide a warm coat for their child this winter.

How to Plan a Children's Coat Drive:

Choose a collection site that is both highly visible and secure.

Put up Baby Buggy drive posters/printouts at the collection sites a week or two before the start of your drive to help spread the word.

Let Baby Buggy know when you are hosting the drive and the anticipated end date.

Contact Jeanne Martin, Volunteer Program Manager, to schedule a drop-off of collected coats. All items should be new or gently used.

Baby Buggy distributes coats to boys and girls from infants to age 14.

Location: UJA-Federation of NewYork, 130 East 59th Street, Room 653The UJA-Federation of NewYork raises funds in support of hundreds of social service agencies around NewYork, and all over the world. "Mitzvah," or "commandment/good deed" project opportunities are offered for families with young children through the Families Division. Join other families to make snowman craft kits for Sunrise Day Camp's in-hospital program, Sunrise on Wheels. Sunrise on Wheels is a year-round program currently based in six area hospitals that brings the fun of camp right into the outpatient chemotherapy and inpatient units with weekly craft projects, toys, and games. Sunrise Day Camp is a UJA beneficiary agency. It is the only dedicated full summer day camp in the nation for children with cancer and their siblings.

Please note there is an $18 fee per child for participation in this program which covers the cost of supplies.

Monday, January 20th is a school and bank holiday. Looking for something to do with your kids? Consider participating in a service project together to begin a conversation about social justice. GenerationOn is a service learning organization that provides resources and tool kits to help you begin this conversation. GenerationOn is also partnering with NY Cares this year to provide family-friendly service opportunities around NewYork.

When calling to volunteer for any of the opportunities listed above, please let the coordinator know you found it through this listing. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have of the sponsoring organization before committing to a project.Disclaimer: This list is provided as a service to families. Inclusion of organizations in this listing does not imply affiliation, endorsement or quality assurance on the part of Doing Good Together. Doing Good Together bears no responsibility whatsoever for the activities and actions of the listed organizations.